In John 13, Jesus commands his disciples: “Love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (verses 34-35 ESV). This passage stirs me each time I read it because it does not simply refer to the Christians we see face to face; it includes those who are persecuted, those whom we have not met. The way we love those whom we have not seen is through prayer.

It had been a while since I read the Declaration of Independence, so I went back and read it again. If I had ever learned that our Declaration of Independence refers to Native Americans as “merciless Indian Savages,” I had forgotten it. As a White American, it’s too easy for me to have selective amnesia.

On April 2, 2015, four members of a terrorist group called al-Shabab entered Garissa University in Kenya, separated the Christians from the Muslims, and shot the followers of Jesus. By the time the police arrived and killed the attackers, 148 students were dead and 79 were injured.

Three years ago, Anthea had a dream where God called her into missions. This past fall, she came to the United States from Germany to study and got involved with InterVarsity at the University of Utah. From there, she came to Urbana 15 and as a result, she has gone from being interested in missions to pursuing practical next steps.

I play basketball with a group of guys at the local 24 Hour Fitness. Our relationship consists of playing ball together and that’s pretty much it. But a few months ago, after we finished playing, a group of us stuck around to shoot the breeze.

Since Urbana is about partnering with God in his work in the global church, it seemed our musical worship should reflect this. A diverse, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual approach to musical worship is an opportunity to engage in good missiology before heading out on mission.